6-Foot-8, 375-Pound NFL Lineman Dawand Jones Bodies NBA Players And College Stars During Pro-Am

Dawand Jones had dreams of playing professional basketball growing up but his massive frame was better suited for the NFL and it has been a rather successful career choice thus far. That doesn’t mean that the starting right tackle for the Cleveland Browns can’t hoop!

He ran fives at a pro-am earlier this week and bodied a talented group of pros and college stars.

Jones, a fourth round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, is listed at 6-foot-8, 374 pounds. Some weight concerns caused him to slip and the Browns ended up with a steal. An injury thrust him into the starting lineup as a rookie and he was quick to remind everyone why he was a First-Team All-American as a senior with the Buckeyes.

Jones allowed just three sacks and 15 quarterback hurries on 712 snaps. Unfortunately, a strong first-year campaign was cut short due to an MCL injury that required surgery in mid-December.

He estimates that he is about “85 to 90%” physically ahead of training camp next month. Basketball is actually helping with his recovery. Jones’ doctors encourage him to hoop at least once a week to break down the scar tissue on the surgically-repaired knee.

This week’s session was a little bit more competitive than normal!

Jones played in the Dizzy Runs Pro-Am alongside former Virginia standout Kyle Guy, NBA veteran Jeff Teague and a few college guys like Butler’s Kolby King and Purdue’s Trey Kauffman Renn. Tuesday’s game was played at Ben Devis High School in Indianapolis.

It was a full-circle moment for Jones to be back in his high school gym and he was dominant!